SNOW SPORTS

It's also a great was to enjoy the outdoors at a time many stay on the couch.

When many people hunkered down in front of a crackling fireplace or a flat-screen hi-def television to watch a movie on a cold winter's night following some of the snowstorms last year, Patty and Jeff Gustafsen entertained themselves in a much more active way.

The husband and wife from Orefield, avid cyclists, donned headlamps and went out cruising through some area fields on cross-country skis at night.

"The most fun was last year when we had that big dump of snow and did nighttime skiing around here on farmlands," Patty Gustafsen said. "We don't go on private land without letting the owners know we're there."

Cross-country skiing is like a blast furnace for burning calories, and you don't feel nearly as much of the cold as you'd think.

"One of the mistakes most people make is that they dress really warm," said Paul Smith of Bethlehem, who has been cross-country skiing in the Lehigh Valley and the Poconos for more than 25 years. "You don't need much clothing: a good base layer, a mid-layer for some warmth and a windbreaker. Most people overdress and find out they get too hot very quickly."

As long as your skin is appropriately covered for the conditions, your body generates enough heat through cross-country skiing to keep you warm. Exposed skin stands a greater chance of getting cold quickly. Appropriate clothing makes the activity comfortable.

"And it's fun," Patty Gustafsen said. "It's not like downhill skiing. It's not a speed thing. It's a fitness thing, but it's also about just being outside, gliding on your skis, checking out nature."

"It's as easy as walking or as aerobically intense as you want to make it," said Karen Nestor, co-owner of Nestor's on MacArthur Road in Whitehall Township.

"When people ask me about it and are on the fence about whether they'll like it or not, I ask them if they like to walk in the woods," she said. "Cross-country skiing is your winter way of walking in the woods. You can set your own pace.

"The skis give you some floatation on the snow to make it easier than walking, and you can increase your work effort and the excitement effort as far as climbing hills or descending hills. Descending hills is a lot, lot, lot, lot trickier than on Alpine skis. If you enjoy winter weather or taking a walk in the snow, cross-country skiing is ideal."

While cross-country skiing may not be ideal for adrenaline junkies, it's perfect for everyday folks and fitness junkies who are looking to be physically active during a time when most people stay indoors.

More importantly, cross-country skiing is relatively cheap. Once you own the equipment — a pair of skis, boots and poles — it's free to ski on public land.

"You can ski for free anywhere there's a hiking, biking or horse riding trail," said Smith, one of the owners, along with Karen O'Brien Winkler, of Scamp 'n' Rascal Cycling Adventures.

Smith turned to cross-country skiing because he liked to be out in the snow. He like downhill skiing, but when he was teaching, he only had weekends to ski and started to get frustrated with long weekend lift lines and the rising price of lift tickets.

"I've skied a lot of trails in Canadensis, woods trails where I'd find a place to go and just go," Smith said. "It's a great way to be in the woods."

The Gustafsens frequent the Trexler Nature Preserve trails, although they're kind of steep, and State Game Lands 205 in Lehigh County on Sundays to avoid the possibility of interfering with hunting during the week.

"It's great fun," Smith said. "You have to get the technique down, and you learn technique with practice. Acquiring the technique is fun and skiing is very quiet. There's great scenery and you get to places you can't normally get to in the winter because you can glide. Skis go much faster than snowshoes.

You can cross-country ski almost anywhere there is at least five inches of snow. Some people will ski on less, but you risk scratching or chunking out your skis on covered rocks and branches.

In the Lehigh Valley, many people head to Allentown Municipal Golf Course or the Lehigh Parkway, which offers spectacular scenery along the Little Lehigh Creek.

The Lehigh Canal Towpath, the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor trails with starting points at places such as Sand Island in Bethlehem, Canal Park in Allentown, the Cementon trailhead and the Walnutport Canal, and local state parks also are ideal places, along with the Appalachian Trail.

In the Poconos, Smith recommends Bruce Lake Natural Area at Promised Land State Park in Pike County. The trails aren't maintained,so you'll be cutting your own trail or following in someone else's tracks, but snowmobiles aren't allowed, so you don't have to worry about man vs. machine conflicts.

Bradys Lake in Monroe County is another place where snowmobiles are not allowed. There is a trail north of Delaware Water Gap called the Joseph M. McDade Recreation Trail, which is part of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, and it goes north to Milford.

The Gustafsens recommended out-of-the-area trails such as Raystown Lake in Huntingdon County and a quaint jewel called Crystal Lake near Williamsport for day-trip adventures.

"If people haven't tried it yet, it's really a great way to get a phenomenal full-body, nonimpact workout," Smith said. "You're in the outdoors with good fresh air. You get a wonderful feeling, and it doesn't cost anything."